No longer a princess
by Girl of Grace
Summary: *on hold* because i haven't seen the movie in a long time. sorry. writer's block.
1. Problems

*****Kristen thanks for your review. I agree with you on my ending so I changed the end. Hope the new one is as good as the old one******

I realize that I changed the entire story from what I had before. Hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: the author doesn't own the characters

**No longer a princess**

Gwen sat on the bench looking up at the stars. She missed Philip but knew that in three days, she would be able to see him again. For the last three years she and her father, Robin Hood, had been in France. Today they would return to Nottingham and then to the palace in London. She could barely sit still.

"What's bothering you child?" William asked, sitting next to her. William was her father's best friend and on all the trips Robin Hood took, William came too.

"Philip" she answered plainly. But William could tell she would hiding emotions behind her words. For three years they have been apart and though Gwen lived each day fully, she always seemed distant. "I don't want to be a spinster when I become too old to ride and fight, but I can't give up on him." Now he understood. She wanted to marry, to have a family, to teach her children and have them ride with her like she rides with her father, but Philip is the king. The two of them had long before resolved that their relationship will go no farther than friendship. Meaning, she would marry someone else.

"Gwen, you should talk to your father about this." William finally said gently. She nodded.

The next day the group arrived at Nottingham. They were greeted by many villagers. Since Prince John was captured and stripped of his title, the area has become more peaceful. Gwen found no comfort in her home, instead she wished that life wasn't so complicated. Many of the friends she grew up with, girls and boys, have married and some already have babies. All of them looked so happy and their lives seemed complete in a way Gwen's life wasn't. That night she met with her father and spoke to him about her problem.

"Gwen, my dear, I don't know what to say. I also would love to have grandchildren and a big family. You and Philip are meant for each other. Your mother was a noble and I was only a commoner, but we managed to find love. Titles mean nothing. You have to abilities to be a great queen and a great mother." her father finally said after Gwen told him everything. "But follow your heart."

The next day passed peacefully. Edward showed up that day. He had also been out of the country in France, though a different part. Together the old friends shared many memories and spoke together the entire evening. She found out that Edward was going to be married to a Frenchwoman in the spring and had returned to tell the town. Even Edward found someone that he could share a life with, but not she, she couldn't share a life with Philip. Everywhere she looked she saw married people, it consumed her mind until everything she thought about lead back to Philip. When the third day came, the day she was to meet him again, she was shaking. In her heart she longed to see him, but her mind knew that when she did, she could never go away again.

"....and I present the King of England, His royal Majesty, KING PHILIP." the announcer called over the thunder of applause. It seemed that in the last three years, with Gwen gone, the girls of the country have been swarming over Philip. At this dinner, many young maidens attended. All batting their eyes at the king and flitting with him when given the chance. He sat at the head of the table, of course, with Gwen's father on the right, and Gwen next to her father. So far, she was lucky and had been able to avoid looking at him, though it became harder and harder as she heard his voice more. When she thought that she was going to burst, the musicians started to play music and couples went on the floor to dance. Finally she couldn't stand it anymore. She walked over to his chair and was about to ask him to dance when she noticed he wasn't there. She frantically looked around the room, making sure he wasn't dancing with someone when she noticed someone leaving the room.

Quickly she walked out of the dining hall, unnoticed by all but her father, who hid his smile under his hand. She followed the person in front of her, half convinced it was Philip and half thinking she was mentally insane, not noticing she was following him down many stairs. Finally, the figure turned a corner and as she followed someone grabbed her arms and slammed her against the wall.

"Well, if it isn't the princess of thieves. I wonder what she's doing here." the man who grabbed her sneered. As he dragged her into the torchlight she saw that he wasn't Philip. She wasn't sure who he was, only knowing from his voice that he wasn't going to be nice and let her go. Instead he half dragged her into a small room far below the earth. Normally she would be fighting him, but the effect the food at the dinning hall was making her unusually tired.

The room was dry and surprisingly well light and comfortable. Many torches hung on the walls and the room was filled like a common room would be, with chairs and mats. It seemed like a place a group of people would meet in. When Gwen realized this her heart sank. First Philip was gone and now she's in a room where a gang meets. The man who brought her here was leaning against the opposite wall studying her. He looked young and resembled the boys that some of the girls in her town/village would flirt with.

"The door's open." She said plainly, trying to stay wake.

"I know. But you aren't going to leave yet." He answered just as plainly, sounding very different than before.

"You act as if you have known me for years." She replied defensively. How could a boy she never saw before know how she would act.

"Perhaps I have. The Dark Riders know much about you and your father." He retorted walking closer to her. She become aware that she no longer felt tired. Instead she felt ready to fight as adrenaline reached through her._ The Dark Riders, they are the largest and strongest undercover group in Europe. What are they doing in England? I heard most of their jobs were in Spain._ She mused. _Even Father hasn't been able to track even **ONE** of their people. I can't believe I have one of them in front of me. If I could over power him......_ and her thoughts ended as she fell onto the ground. The sleeping drought put into her soup had taken affect. Just as she was going to hit the ground, the young man caught her and placed her on one of the seats.

"Buen* trabajo_* "_ a voice hissed as a black cloaked human walked into the room.

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* Good job* Spanish- I think that's right. I'm not really good at Spanish.

Well??? LIKE IT???

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	2. The Changes

Disclaimer: the author doesn't own the characters

**No longer a princess**

Gwen woke up with only slight headache. The first thing she noticed was she lay on a bed made of down, not straw as she was accustomed to. Looking around her, she picked up only a few hints of light coming through cracks above her. From all the years on the road, she could easily tell the time was day. As her eyes adjusted to the little light, she noticed the room she was in was small and held many other objects, pots and pans, some bags of flour, and so forth. She was only being in the room. Finally her eyes turned back to the lights in the ceiling, at least what she thought was the ceiling. When she realized what was above her was actually a heavy cloth, the entire room bounced causing to pots to clang.

Suddenly, the present came to her. She was in a wagon riding on a very smooth road. Gwen sighed and laid back down. The past came back to her in a swarm. She recalled the boy and the party. She wondered what was happening. _What happened doesn't matter. All that matters is that I get back.What about the Dark Riders? They wouldn't just leave me here in the back unguarded. Would they? Well I'm going to try to leave. They may have thought they know all about me and Father, but they're wrong._

She stood up slowly and walked slowly to the end of the carriage. Well, she tried to walk. _Now I know why they didn't leave a guard with me. I can't get anywhere with these chains around my ankles._ Stumped about this new, and very unwelcome, turn, she sat on one of the barrels. After bouncing on more rocks, Gwen became more and more angry at herself and her situation. She kicked her chains making a loud noise. The entire carriage halted to a stop. Gwen's muscles tensed. Some low muttering was held from the front. She shielded her eyes as someone opened the back curtain. 

"Well, it was time to stop anyways." The person called to her much too happily.

"You again." She replied narrowing her eyes when they became used to the light.

"Yes, it's me. Come on out. You've been asleep for... how long was it? Oh yes, about 2 days now. That sleeping potion was very effective, maybe a bit too much. Anyways, it's nearly noon." He cheerfully ushered her out as he undid her chains. Outside she noticed the road was narrow but very even. Surrounding the thin road were so many trees she couldn't see the end of the large wood. After she fully absorbed her surroundings, she noticed that the boy stood too close to her. Quickly, she backed away, right into someone else. This someone else was still robed in black and looked at her with menacing eyes. 

"What do you want with me?" she asked ready to run.

"That you will find in time. Also, you are now in the outskirts of Ireland. You don't know these forests. Don't try to run. Besides, one can never tell what lurks in the dark woods of this land." the boy said as he brought some food. She accepted what was handed to her and ate the dry bread in silence, listening to the others talking quietly in a language she didn't understand. Finally they returned to the wagon. Over the next day, she spoke to the boy, though he rarely answered her questions directly. She was able to learn his name was Miguel. He was raised in Spain, though he was English by birth. He never told her why she was taken, only that she and her father had been watched from a long time now. He didn't say much about his own life or the Dark Riders. 

The night of next day, they reached a small town. Miguel took her through some dark lanes and eventually to a dark house. She tried to run, but the rope around her wrists and neck were very affective. She was roughly handed over to another robed man, this one in dark blue. With a short farewell and a bright smile, Miguel left.

She was handed from person to person like this for the next few weeks. Each "owner" was less gentle than the last one. Soon she found herself wishing she could see Miguel again. After 4 people, she was brought to Spain. Finally, her last "master" undid her blindfold and pushed her into a room. Unlike her last few rooms, one being the bottom of a boat, this room was very bright, complete with warm bath ready for her. She sighed as she stepped into the warm waters. Though none of the robed ones had hurt her, none of them talked to her. They brought her only enough food and left her alone the rest of the time. _None of my questions have been answered. Okay fine. Two of my questions has been. My question about why I've been handed from person to person has been. But that answer is easy- To keep people from tracking me. Also, that guy was able to tell me I'm in Spain. Which isn't good at all. Father will never find me._ Her thoughts drifted off and snapped about when the doors opened. A girl, about half Gwen's age, entered.

"Hello. I'm Sofia." the small brunette said as she curtsied. Sofia brought some oils and helped Gwen wash up.

"I didn't expect anyone here to speak English." Gwen stated as she climbed into the bed.

"I'm your lady-in-waiting. But you will need to learn Spanish my lady." Sofia said.

"Lady-in-waiting?" Gwen asked puzzled.

"Yes. Every queen needs one. The king will go crazy if his wife doesn't have a lady-in-waiting." the pre-teen answered giggling. Slowly, Sofia gave Gwen the answers she wanted. _So... They want me to be their queen. Queen of the Dark Riders. They must be crazy. Why would they want me? I don't know any of their customs. True, Father taught me well, but they must have another girl to do the job._

"Anyways, the Dark Riders aren't as bad as you think. I grew up in this place. It's just like any life..." Sofia kept going on. At long last Sofia left and Gwen went to bed. _According to Sofia, and all she said, the Dark Riders are just like the Merry Men. Still, I need to leave soon. I can't live here, not as a wife to some insane king. _And with that last thought, she fell asleep.

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Um.............. well that was a long time. sorry I didn't post. Hope you like it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! please review! the button is right there!!!!!!!!!!


	3. Gwen's thoughts

_ONE MONTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe I've been here for ONE MONTH and not a SINGLE opportunity to escape with. These Dark Riders are much better at this than I can bring myself to believe. Everywhere I go there are guards. I can't get any privacy. Nothing._

_Curse them. True their land is beautiful. No one in England would believe that the Dark Riders have headquarters in the caves of a waterfall. It may be nice to waking up to the sound of water rushing, but Spanish is much harder to learn then I thought. Luckily Sophia is here. Otherwise I would have lost my mind long ago._

_At least they let me visit the nearby fort every week, though guards come with me of course. The peasants seem to know that the Dark Riders live at the waterfall, though none of them are foolish enough to wander in. The nobles seem to just overlook the facts, so much like Prince John. The performers are better here than back at Nottingham. That may be because I'm too used to the jugglers back home._

_Oh Father, it's been a month. Are you looking for me? No one here haven't told me anything about you. They seem to want for me to forget about England. Fat chance. I would give anything to be back. Today more than ever. I just met their king. I thought he would be like Philip was, young and bold. Instead, I faced a middle-aged man with two previous wives. According to what Sophia told me, his first wife was a born Dark Rider. She died giving birth to her first child, who later died from an illness. The second wife was her sister, who was killed because she was sleeping with another man. Both those women were fighters, like me. They were both skilled at swords, but no unmarried woman was left that could be a suitable wife. So they found me. They think I will make a good queen after all the training I've been though._

_I confess that I stayed this long not because I couldn't find a way to leave but because maybe, deep down, I wanted to know what the King was like. But now I know I'm leaving. One way or another. Father, I'm coming home._

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Well that was fun. that was all Gwen's PofV. Also I don't know if that was confusing. if it was tell me in a review

**Kitera-Matar:** Thanks for everything. hope like this chapter too. Hope you will tell your friend

Nicoletta: THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm glad you like it.


	4. Just some info about the story

Author's note: I felt that the last chapter was very...confusing. So I decided to make everything a little clearer.

Disclaimer: The author doesn't own any of the character (except that ones she made up). But she does own the Dark Riders.

**No Longer a Princess**

**Chapter 4: Details about the storyline**

**The Dark Riders**: A Spanish undercover group. They are the largest but most well hidden group of their type in Europe. There are 4 "headquarters" one in Ireland (Gwen was there), one in France, and two in Spain (one near the Atlantic coast, the other by the Mediterranean Sea). The largest grouping of Dark Riders are in the caves of a waterfall by the Mediterranean, with about 500 men. The other headquarters have about 300 men each. Very few Riders live outside of these headquaters.

The main focus of the group is to undermine the government and live in their own world. They only involve "outsiders" when absolutely necessary (as in Gwen's case). Not **one** of them have been captured. They live off of their own cunning and skills. Various rumors make these people sound worse then they are. True they steal, but only jewels and gold. They hunt their own food and farm their crops.

Women are trained to fight and defend the area when the men are out hunting. But they are still treated under men. Children are considered adults when they can live on their own. All the boys are trained to be fighters of the cause; all girls are trained to be wives and mothers (except the queen). To be a noble, one has to _earn_ the privilege, instead of by birth. Nobles are treated nearly the same as commoners. The King of the Dark Riders is currently King Howard. He leads the men, while the queen leads the women. He is about 29 years old (middle-aged for that time). And he had two wives before (one after the other died). But of the 5 children (1 with one wife, 4 with the other), three died of illness, one died at birth, and the last one was killed when hunting. So they are left without a heir. 

Gwen was brought into the kingdom because of the lack of queen. Her main skill is archery, while the other queens were skilled in swords.

Most locals know of where these people live, but they turn the other cheek because no one wants to try to capture these people.

**Capital of the Riders**: Is in the caves a of waterfall, and the surrounding area. Inside the caves are the storage, and where the royal family and the nobles live. The surrounding area is like any village, with huts. Some area is kept clear in the caves, so when under-attack, the people can hide. Everything is kept very intricate, the area is made so that under any type of attack, there is a defense.

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Hopefully, that cleared up anything. I'm going to update again this week and add something that's actually a chapter. I normally updated on breaks (right now is mid-winter). The last chapter (the one with Gwen thinking) was what goes on in her mind. She wasn't writing or anything like that. I didn't know how else to tackle it.

Now for the reviews:

**Kitera-Matar**: I love how you keep posting every chapter. It helps me keep going, knowing that someone likes it so much they keep reading. 

**Tigress-of-Shang**: I'm not sure I want Philip to save the day, but I don't like Philip that much. He's too much of an unoriginal character. Actually, except of the ending, the whole movie was predicable. Anyways, I want to make it that Gwen realizes...WAIT!...I can't tell you what's going to happen. ^_^

**Keeli**: I'm glad you like it. I'm not sure about romance. I've read lots of romance fanfics, but actually writing it...I'm not sure *yet*. Also, about that about that website, I found some with pictures, but they were mainly reviews. But nothing that you would be looking for. SORRY!

**Elizabeth Martin**: I was afraid that Gwen's character was changing too much from the original in the movie. (I don't own the movie, it's my friend's, I just watched it once about 2 months ago.) But it's good to know that it's not happening.


	5. Author's note

I'm really sorry that I haven't posted any chapters because I really don't know how to continue the story. I'm having a bit of the a writer's block and the fact that the last time I saw the movie was last year doesn't help.

Until I see the movie again or get some sort of motivation I'm leaving the fic as is for a while. Hopefully, but spring break (3 weeks) I will know what to write.

Thanks to **Kitera-Matar** for reviewing. I love how you give me good advice w/o being offensive. THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please bear with me for the time. I'll try all the blockbusters in my area to find the tape!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~Girl of Grace

P.S. **Keeli**- I updated to respond to your review. I have to WHOLE plot ready in my mind, but the problem is I don't know how to write it. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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